Free your Soul and be One with the World

Stop. Take a minute out of your hectic, fast-paced life. Put down your pursuits, discard your desires and listen. Not to me, but to yourself.

Close your eyes and focus. Hear the sound of your breathing. Distance yourself from the world around you, turn your thoughts inward. Into the space you occupy on this planet. Just you, nothing else.

You no longer have cars, houses, clothes, possessions. None of the physical accroutements that clutter your mind and tempt your heart. Dig through the external layer of your existence, shed the clothes that hide you from your true self.

Shatter the as yet unbroken glass of your ego. Delve through the crusty, hardened shell of your pride, the rough exterior that powers you through your existence.

Continue your excavation, deeper and deeper into yourself. Through the sleek, shiny veneer of cynicism, the smug, all-knowing intellect for whom life's grandeur holds no mystery. Crush that self-satisfied sardonic curse that twists all beauty, that denies the very existence of your soul.

Approach the heart gently, for this is the hardest. Pierce through the pulsating emotions of your wants and needs, tear a gaping hole through your very life force.

Tenderly allow your soul, the core of your being, to exit from the hole in your heart. Free it from its constraints, from the many layers built up over the years, that hide and bury it in the sands of your daily routine dullery.

See, feel, taste, smell, hear that soul as it breaks free. Allow it to roam, follow it as it discovers the world it was meant for. Harness its strength as it begins to recognize sister souls around it. It connects with the souls embodied in man, it uplifts the souls in every animal, vegetable and mineral.

Your unshackled self, finally unfettered by your selfish, personal wants, can now merge with the divine sparks in existence and is at one with the world.

TRK

Open my eyes

Thank you, oh worthy blogger. Thank you for broadening my horizons, for opening my eyes. For giving others the opportunity to put their thoughts down for the world to see, and for giving me the privilege to read them and catch a glimpse into the life of others different to me.

I no longer have much contact with my charedi friends, they are all grown up, with ever-growing families, secluded and sheltered in their own communities. When I see them on the street (if they stray into this part of the world) I think to myself, "although we learn the same torah, keep the same mitzvot, worship the same G-d, we really don't have that much in common".

And then I discovered blogs. Blogs from people in that world, boys and girls who have far more in common with me than I could ever have realized. Similar struggles, issues concerning emunah, action, relationships, achievements, attitude, society etc etc.

Now, when I see them on the street, I wonder "hmmmm, could that be a fellow blogger? even if not, maybe he/she really is going through similar stuff to me".

Thank you blogger for opening my eyes.

TRK

The Abyss

Like a cloud, a constant leech
beneath my feet

Darkness envelops me
suffocating me, stifling me

I see no reflection, no response
Just dark dank deep despair

No hope, no steps to climb back out
Out of the slippery slope

Wasted efforts, spent years
Cannot remove the monkey from me, breathing heavily in my ear

Pushing me into the swirling mists
Dragging me lower, into the depths

The cold, creeping tentacles of angst
Surrounds my soul, tighter, freezing me with its touch

Whither shall I run? Where shall I flee?
It is inside and I cannot flee from me

So I hope and pray it is temporary
and await my salvation, my saviour,
to come and set me free

TRK

The heavenly debate in the balance

The heavenly court goes quiet, the hustle and bustle dies down, as the prosecuting angel steps forth. "Oh mighty one" he addresses the Divine Judge. "You of all people know that this mean has lived a long and fruitful life, his time has come. It is time to put an end to it"

"Objection" shouts the defending angel. "Presumptive argument, move to strike. Under section 4(b) subsection two of the law, there is a special dispensation for leaders who are needed by their people. I demand the invocation of this rule."

"And what say the people?" spoke the heavenly judge, the One who sees and knows all.

"Oh great one" pleaded the defender. "Do you not hear their cries, do you not heed their pleas? Will you grant this man more time, in your abundant mercy, to fearlessly lead your people?"

to be continued ....